[dmspen]

After fooling around my with Netgear WNR2000v2 router yesterday, I decided it was having issues. It wouldn't pick up IP addresses from my Comcast modem (see other thread). I called Netgear as the router (17 months old) has a LIMITED LIFETIME WARRANTY.

After being on hold then transferred, the rep (with a heavy accent) told me that this router was the best on the market and some people had been using them for 20 years! OK...

He told me the warranty was on the hardware only and that my problem was a misconfiguration and he would fix it. Since the 1 year warranty was up, there would be a fee to get it setup. Only $79.95 for a year of warranty service, or $39.95 for 6 months or $34.95 for a one time fix. The one year warranty would also cover setting up any other device on my network.

He guaranteed that it was NOT a hardware issue and he would be the first to send a replacement if it was. He told me it needed a manual IP address setup for it to work as I probably had a power outage which messed it up. I explained that I didn't have a power outage and it was connected to a UPS with power conditioner and has been working fine on automatic since I got it. I even tried to explain that power cycling didn't always reboot the device, that it would hang with all the lights on. He still wouldn't let go of the manual IP solution first. In the end I said NO to everything and did a manual IP fix myself.

The catch is that they won't admit to a hardware problem until AFTER you fork over the service fee for a configuration fix. After this go around, I wonder if ALL the companies are like that now or if someone is better than others? I may get a new router just to get rid of this problematic one.

Any suggestions?

 

[CATCRAW]

I had the same experience with Netgear and my router was not even 1 year old. I was told the warranty was only on the hardware and not the service to determine the issue, even though they said they were sure it was faulty hardware. After numerous calls I got to a manager who finally agreed to replace the router. I would have to wait for them to send me a Return Authorization Number and then send it to them. They would then test and evaluate to see if it needed to be replaced, if so they would then send me a new router. All of this meant a minimum of 3-4 weeks down time. I told him I had a better solution - I'd go to the store where I purchased the Netgear router and tell them of my experience and that I would NEVER recommend or purchase their product again and buy a competitive product. What good is a warranty if you still have to pay to speak to someone to get the warranty honored???? I did buy a Linksys and am very happy with it.

 

[harsh]

Understand that your IP addresses come from DHCP requests that are answered by Comcast's routers and not your modem (unless you have a gateway and didn't need a router to begin with).

If you do something stupid (like turning off the WAN DHCP client), you can't expect the manufacturer to identify and undo your carelessness for free.

I would recommend that you reset the modem to factory defaults and repair the damage you did while "fooling around". If you still feel compelled to screw around, don't blame the manufacturer when your misguided actions impair or take out your Internet connection.

 

[funhouse69]

I've been using Netgears ProSafe Product line for many, many years. Other then most of the items going EOL I've had really good luck with them. The "Lifetime" Warranty is a little deceptive in my opinion from what I've seen if the item dies within the first year you will get a "New" one that is still under warranty if however you have something die after a few years you will get a refurbished replacement which will not be under warranty. So after a certain period of time it is a one shot replacement deal.

This is also why you can buy refurbished Netgear Equipment for CHEAP it is NOT under their Lifetime Warranty. It might carry a 90 day but that is about it.

I can't say that I've had a lot of experience with the Netgear Consumer product line so I can't speak for it. Lately I've switch to the Cisco Home Office Product line which also offers a Lifetime Warranty. This is basically the Linksys Equipment repackaged with the Cisco Logo on it. They do offer some really powerful stuff for a really good price though.

 

[dmspen]

Understand that your IP addresses come from DHCP requests that are answered by Comcast's routers and not your modem (unless you have a gateway and didn't need a router to begin with).

If you do something stupid (like turning off the WAN DHCP client), you can't expect the manufacturer to identify and undo your carelessness for free.

I would recommend that you reset the modem to factory defaults and repair the damage you did while "fooling around". If you still feel compelled to screw around, don't blame the manufacturer when your misguided actions impair or take out your Internet connection.

When I say 'fooling around' I did nothing other than try to solve my loss of internet. Logging into the router showed IP addresses of 0 across the board. Rebooting multiple times, which revealed a flaky power switch, finally acquired DHCP address but the DNS servers remained 0.

I eventually manually entered the DNS server addresses and got stuff to work. I filed a warranty clain with Netgear for the hardware button and they're sending a replacement.